NewsFlashUS MX contract settles up 20 cts at $2.50

02 February 2006 22:45[Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The US mixed xylenes (MX) contract price between a large consumer and its suppliers was agreed at $2.50/gal free on board (FOB) (Euro627/tonne FOB), up 20 cents/gal or 8.7% from the January contract settlement, traders and smaller consumers said on Thursday.

The contract settlement came after February spot prices moved past the $2.50/gal FOB mark during the second half of January, rising from $2.48/gal FOB USG on 20 January to $2.58/gal on 31 January, according to ICIS-LOR. February spot business was done on Thursday at $2.565/gal FOB USG.

Rising prices in related markets have been pushing MX higher, in particular a steady rise in gasoline cash prices over the past six weeks. MX spot prices rose from $2.32-2.37/gal FOB USG in early January to the upper $2.50s/gal FOB USG late in the month. US Gulf M-grade gasoline cash prices were $1.46-1.47/gal on 20 December, but by 31 January the M-grade numbers were nearly 30 cents/gal higher at $1.74-1.75/gal.

Stronger paraxylene (PX) spot prices also supported the upward trend in MX. Over the 16 December-31 January time period, PX spot prices rose from $900-920/tonne FOB USG to $960-980/tonne FOB USG. PX spot prices were as high as $990-1,010/tonne FOB USG in mid-January.

The MX settlement is the highest since the $3.38/gal FOB agreement for October 2005, which is the highest-ever settlement in ICIS-LOR historical data. The February 2006 settlement is the third-highest contract price.